Stories behind the Stitches: Schoolgirl Samplers of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries

Abstract

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, samplers were increasingly being used as an educational tool for girls from all social backgrounds. Needlework was a necessary craft particularly for girls from impoverished positions as it prevented idleness and gave them employable skills. Samplers stitched in charity schools or orphanages not only exercised simple embroidery techniques, but also provided instruction in literacy and numeracy. Inscriptions usually include the maker's name, age, year, moralizing text, and the school in which the scholar received her education. This data is a starting point to discover information about the stitcher, the school, and the role of needlework in educational institutions.

This article will examine schoolgirl samplers from the Fitzwilliam Museum's extensive collection. Putting the examples in a historical context illuminates issues of gender and education at this time. In some cases scant information exists on the girls and these schoolroom objects are the only proof of their existence. But in other instances, life stories have been traced from childhood through to adulthood and old age, with needlework skills helping to provide an income throughout. These examples overall serve as a testament to their makers’ patience and skill, and are invaluable historical documents that can tell us personal stories about the girls who made these classroom items.